Band:	Woods Of Ypres
Album:	Pursuit Of The Sun & Allure Of The Earth
Style:	Melodic black metal, Doom metal
Release date:	August 14, 2004
A review by:	Undercraft

01. Intro: The Looming Of Dust In The Dark (& The Illumination)
02. The Will To Give
03. The Sun Was In My Eyes : Part One
04. The Sun Was In My Eyes : Part Doom
05. Allure Of The Earth
06. Shedding The Deadwood
07. Dragged Across A Forest Floor
08. Summer's Envy
09. The Ghost Of Summer's Past
10. Outro: The End Of August

I found this band while surfing on the net for new stuff, and I must say that the first thing that attracted me was the "genre" of the music, Woods Of Ypres call themselves "Summer Black Metal" and while you may think this is a happy, joyful Black Metal, is not. The Canadians are here to prove that summer can be a time of grief also.

I must say this is almost a solo project, since all the members of the band left while recording and the rest of the album was completed by remaining member David Gold.
Anyway, Woods Of Ypres is not entirely Black Metal per se, is a hybrid between acoustic, melancholic, Doomy passages and Black Metal beats and riffs. Kinda reminded me of Agalloch at times.

The album is quite lengthy but is really good, the music is well balanced between the softer parts and the harsher ones, each separate style is leaded by a vocal style, you got mournful vocals, spoken ones and awesome harsh vocals (you can actually understand what they're saying!).

The album starts with a sombre acoustic intro (one of my favourites) and then the first real song kicks in, "Will To Give" is the perfect example of what these guys do, starts with acoustic guitars, clean vocals and a overall moody atmosphere, then in a sudden burst, Black Metal sections entwine with sad passages creating a whole "sad Black Metal" atmosphere.

Almost every track begins with a acoustic intro, and not all have Black Metal outbursts (like "Shedding The Deadwood" and "Summer Envy"), although some others are more aggressive ("Dragged Across A Forest Floor"). The album finds perfect balance between the opposing forces that rule it. Is neither too soft neither too hard, is just perfect.

I frankly recommend to all out there to give this a try, Woods Of Ypres bring us a fantastic album with a bipolarity so mesmerizing that even if the record and some songs are quite lengthy you won't notice.